Tuesday 25 May 2021

Blog Tour: Lost Souls by Jenny O'Brien


A MISSING GIRL. A RACE AGAINST TIME.

Ten-year-old Elodie Fry vanishes overnight, along with a rucksack filled with her meagre belongings. Acting DI Gaby Darin and her team are fighting the clock to reunite Elodie with her distraught mother – but was Elodie kidnapped or did she run?

Later that day, a local undertaker uncovers a nasty surprise: the remains of an unidentified second adult among a late pensioner’s ashes. Torn between the two investigations, Gaby decides the gruesome discovery at the crematorium must wait – the team are desperate to find Elodie before they lose her trail.

But as she follows the evidence, Gaby realises the two cases have a sinister connection… and there’s a killer on the loose.

Can Gaby find the missing girl alive… or is she already too late

Purchase Link - http://smarturl.it/Lost_Souls

Review

As detectives scramble to find missing ten-year-old Elodie Fry, a crematorium worker presents evidence of a second body found with another man's ashes. Acting DI Gaby Darin doesn't have the time to spare to look into it, nor into the sudden disappearance of a local pensioner, but has to spread her team even thinner to do so. On top of this, Gaby is trying to juggle a fledgling relationship and possibly apply to make her DI status permanent. With so many balls in the air, it seems inevitable that one's going to drop - and someone's going to get hurt.

A fast paced, tightly written mystery, this was my very first introduction to Gaby Darin and her bullpen of detectives, each with their own problems. Fourth in the series, this definitely made reference to (and possibly spoiled) previous books and key past events, so I perhaps wouldn't start here. It was a little difficult to work out what was backstory and what occurred in earlier books. Nonetheless, the multiple points of view helped provide insights into various characters, even if it was a little hard to keep them all straight at times. It's no coincidence that the titular Lost Souls are plural, as Elodie isn't the only one who needs help.

We spend the most time with Gaby, whose grim determination to get the job done is starting to falter against a backdrop of personal developments and an overwhelming caseload. I really liked Gaby and would like to see more of her, both what happened previously and where she goes from here. Rusty is really sweet (he seems like a great guy) and the tension in their relationship stems from his son, who is rather resentful of the new person in his father's life.

The twists and turns as the disparate pieces of the story draw together kept me guessing almost all the way through and it all fell into place with a satisfying click, even if the motive wasn't clear. As for the more personal side of the story? There's definitely going to be a change to the status quo and I'm curious as to how this shakes things up.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Rachel's Random Resources; all opinions are my own

Author Bio

Born in Dublin, Jenny O'Brien moved to Wales and then Guernsey, where she tries to find time to write in between working as a nurse and ferrying around 3 teenagers.

In her spare time she can be found frowning at her wonky cakes and even wonkier breads. You'll be pleased to note she won't be entering Bake-Off. She's also an all-year-round sea swimmer. Readers can find out more about Jenny and her books on her blog: (jennyobrienwriter.wordpress) and she can also be found on Twitter and Instagram as 'scribblerjb' and Facebook (Jenny O'Brien Guernsey Writer)

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